Harvard track and field advanced to the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Championships after a historic performance on May 29 at the NCAA East First Round in Lexington, Kentucky. The Crimson men’s 4x100m relay team, along with junior Tito Alofe and junior Charlie Ortmans, secured their spots for the national competition.
The men’s 4x100m relay team—comprised of junior Timi Esan, senior Jonas Clarke, sophomore LeRoy Horton, and junior Amari Turner—posted a time of 38.90 seconds in the quarterfinals. This result earned them one of three qualification spots based on time and set a new Ivy League record as the first school in conference history to run below 39 seconds in this event. It is also only the second time since 2000 that an Ivy League program has qualified for this relay at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Tito Alofe will represent Harvard for a third consecutive season in the men’s high jump at nationals. Alofe cleared heights of 2.06 meters (6’9″) and 2.11 meters (6’11”) before making his final attempt over 2.16 meters (7’1″). He was one of just ten athletes out of forty-eight to clear that height, qualifying him for all six NCAA Championships across indoor and outdoor events during his collegiate career.
Charlie Ortmans qualified for both the men’s 10,000m final earlier in the week and now adds qualification for the men’s 5000m final after running a time of 13:41.79 with a strong finish over his last lap. Ortmans becomes only the fourth student-athlete in Harvard history to qualify for both distance events at nationals within one season.
First-year Tam Gavenas finished fifteenth overall in the men’s 5000m with a time of 13:57.17, while junior Sam Burgess placed twentieth with a time of 14:02.38. In field events, first-year Joachim Johnson took thirty-fifth place in triple jump after reaching a mark of 14.99 meters (49’2¼”), ending his debut season as Ivy League champion.
Harvard concludes its participation at this year’s NCAA East First Round tomorrow as action resumes at Lexington starting from early afternoon.
